1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a monitor apparatus mounted in a vehicle to display television programs, vehicle-travel information, and so on.
2. Background Information
Conventionally, monitor apparatuses for television or the like are accommodated in the dashboards of vehicles so that passengers can view the display portions (i.e., the screens) of the display panels. Such a known monitor apparatus has a housing installed in the vehicle dashboard, a slide body housed in the housing so that it can advance and retract, and a display panel pivotably attached to the slide body by using one end portion of the display panel as a pivot supporting point. The display panel can be shifted between a housed position in which the display panel is housed within the housing, a horizontal position in which the display panel projects from the housed position toward the front side of the housing, and an upright position in which the display panel is pivotably raised from the horizontal position. pivotably
The known monitor apparatus includes a gear transmission mechanism, arm members, pins, and so on. The gear transmission mechanism is driven by a drive source (a motor) to cause the slide body to move and to cause the display panel to pivot. The arm members, the pins, and so on are engaged with each other between the slide body and the display panel. The slide body, the drive source, the gear transmission mechanism, the arm members, the pins, and so on constitute a driving section for movably driving the display panel.
The driving section allows the display panel to shift from the housed position to the horizontal position in which the display panel projects forward from the housing and to pivotably rise from the horizontal position to the upright position, and also allow the display panel to pivotably lower from the upright position to the horizontal position and to shift from the horizontal position to the housed position in which the display panel is drawn into the housing (refer to Japanese Patent No. 3089096).
However, when the display panel of the known monitor apparatus is in the upright position, it is susceptible to an external force, such as a force due to a passengerTs inadvertent contact, or a force intentionally induced by pushing or pulling down when the passenger operates an air-conditioner operation switch located behind the display panel or when the passenger adjusts the angle of the display panel to an easy-to-view position.
Since such an external force is transmitted to the driving section through the display panel, the driving section may be damaged and the life of the driving section may be reduced. Since the driving section includes the gear transmission mechanism, a high load due to an external force applied to the display panel is applied to the gears of the gear transmission mechanism, which may thus cause loss of gear teeth, increase gear wear, and shorten the life of the gear transmission mechanism.
Additionally, the gear transmission mechanism may have a slipping section (or slipping means). In this case, when the slipping section is in operation, a continuous high load due to an external force is repeatedly applied to the gear transmission mechanism to thereby increase gear wear and to shorten the life of the gear transmission mechanism. In addition, the repeated slip operation of the slipping section increases the wear on components constituting the slipping section, thereby reducing a transmissible torque, inhibiting the gear transmission, and increasing the play in the entire gear train. This makes it difficult to smoothly perform the pivoting operation of the display panel. Additionally, since the display panel receiving an external force is maintained at its position, there is a problem in that it is difficult to view the screen of the display panel.